MOOCs and webinars

eleonorang

You will probably have heard about MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and webinars for your continuing professional development. Sites like Coursera and edX offer free courses with paid certificate (i.e. you can take the course for free but need to pay to receive a document that attests your completion of the course), whereas eCPD Webinars and Proz.com offer translation-specific webinars available for a charge.

Have you tried any yet? If not, why?

I have also discovered a new platform today, called Canvas. Is anyone able to tell me something more about it?

Dmitry

eleonorang Never really had the time to take online courses, so I can't really tell anything about those platforms. However I had to learn a ton of things about web-design when I was building The Open Mic and I didn't really take any courses. Internet is full of excellent knowledge and whenever I have a problem or a question I can easily find the answer just by googling.

Sometimes I learn from YouTube videos, sometimes I learn from podcasts, sometimes I learn from articles and blogs. It's probably a millennial's approach to learning, I guess

eleonorang

fabiomcaldas Looks like there's plenty of platforms! Thanks for listing them.
I have also appreciated the quality level of the notions provided on the courses I've taken! And I find that edX courses are really user-friendly and fun to attend because of the multimedia resources you also mentioned.
I think it would be interesting to interact with comments on those courses and webinars that are targeted on translators... instead I have found myself unable to comment on MOOCs about medicine and biology, for instance, because I could not keep the conversation with experts and students of the field

Dmitry I think MOOCs are useful when you have a great deal to learn in a specific field, or you need theoretical knowledge, but for as little as I know, when it comes to web-design, programming, codes and stuff, practice works best! As to the millennial's approach, I definitely share that one

Dmitry

eleonorang when it comes to web-design, programming, codes and stuff, practice works best

Yes, absolutely! Lot's of it is needed before you really start getting the hang of it. I think the same applies to translation and writing

Catherine

If you have followed discussions in social media, blog posts by prominent translators, and presentations at translation conferences, you've probably heard that subject matter expertise is the essential key to getting better clients and better rates as well as attaining higher translating speed and higher personal satisfaction. This means not simply defining your "market niche," but also becoming so immersed in the subject area that you can speak the language of that subject with as much fluency as someone originally trained in that field. Courses aimed just at translators are too narrow: they tend to focus just on terminology in the field, but terminology without context will never make a translator fluent enough to claim subject matter expertise or to deal expertly with translating in that field. If you want to corner the market in a particular subject matter, become the go-to person for that field, and command top dollar, you also have to know the basic history of the subject area, its major debates and current concerns, and the style of writing used in that field.

Although self-directed reading is a good start, there is no better way for gaining in-depth knowledge of a particular specialty than directed learning under an expert in the field in tandem with others who are learning. It used to be that the only way to get access to this learning was through physically attending courses at colleges or universities. This meant either going deeply into debt to pay for the privilege or sitting in as an auditor (if allowed), but having no chance of getting feedback on your work from the instructor or proof that you had attended and done the assignments.

MOOCs have changed all that. They are an incredible resource for learning a subject area, whether at beginning, intermediate, or advanced levels. Even the most basic ones go far beyond webinars or so-called "courses" aimed just at translators. MOOCs range from simple filmed lecture courses (which, if the instructors are dynamic speakers, can be mesmerizing) to multimedia extravaganzas delivering content through several channels, reinforcing learning and meeting many different learning styles. Moreover, a translator can get subject matter expertise and hone their linguistic abilities at the same time by taking MOOC courses in their foreign language, effectively doubling the benefit! And how can you beat the cost?! As Eleonor noted, they are usually free to take, with small fees for certificates attesting to your having taken the course and passed the graded assignments. What's more, almost all professional translator associations will accept these MOOC certificates as proof of fulfilling requirements for continuing education units (CEUs) or continuing professional development (CPD). They are a lot cheaper than all the other well-trodden routes (paid translator webinars/courses, conferences, etc.) for fulfilling these requirements.

Any translator who is not taking advantage of these MOOCs is losing out on the best avenue to come along yet (short of getting an advanced degree on campus) for upgrading their skills, surpassing the competition, demonstrating subject matter expertise, and making a better living with a more sustainable career. I can't recommend them highly enough.

eleonorang

Catherine That's right, @Catherine ! Personally I feel so lucky to live in a time when all of these precious resources are just a couple of clicks away!
Why don't you tell us a bit about your experience? What kind of courses did you take for your CPD and which platforms did you find most useful and easy-to-use?

Dmitry

Catherine Any translator who is not taking advantage of these MOOCs is losing out on the best avenue to come along yet (short of getting an advanced degree on campus) for upgrading their skills, surpassing the competition, demonstrating subject matter expertise, and making a better living with a more sustainable career. I can't recommend them highly enough.

_marocca

eleonorangPaulWilliamDixon Mi piace il gelatto!
I survived two months in Italy some years ago. I just never developed the language. Grammar is pretty similar to PT, so that's not a big deal. But I def need more vocabulary! Duolingo has been great help!

RenataFTorres

RenataFTorres

eleonorang I'm glad to know that! I also want to try Italian. Maybe some time this year, I don't know yet. I just know the basics.

RenataFTorres

_marocca_marocca I survived 15 days 12 years ago! Still don't know how haha Maybe my Portuguese aunt had something to do with that. She's lived in Rome for the largest part of her life and wanted to make me feel welcome by speaking only in Portuguese with me. After 7 days I could easily understand all that was said, but was not able to form a full sentence.

As for Duolingo, I took it up last year, and the year before that (haha), but I can't seem to adapt to their more structural approach. I guess I need something that is hands-on. What do you think of Duolingo's methodology? And where in Italy did you stay when you traveled there?

_marocca

RenataFTorres I stayed in the Veneto Region (North) for a while (which is nothing short of breathtaking), then went down to Livorno and sorroundings. It was spring, so the temperature was just warm enough for us to enjoy the beach and not roast in the sun. _ Our flight back was from Milan, so we did stopped by some touristic atractions on the way back up as well, like the tower of Pisa and Florence. We've been to Venice before as well, super cool!

I'm ok with Duolingo's methodology for Italian, maybe it's "easy" for me because IT is very similar to PT... I'm learning Irish on it as well, and it is a bit harder. The biggest advantage of Duolingo I think is the reminders for daily practice, and the repetition. I have an Irish friend who's learning German on it and he can have a conversation with people already!

RenataFTorres

_marocca It must've been wonderful, visiting all those great places, Marocca. And good to know about your friend. Maybe I'll give Duolingo another try. I didn't know they taught
Irish!

_marocca

Back to the Topic, I'm very excited that I signed up for some online writing courses! __ Udemy is also a good resource for courses. Although I don't think they have free ones...
Now I just have to be careful so that I don't sign up for more stuff that I can actually do